First, I must confess, that I have truly missed writing. Sometimes life gets busy, and we overlook the things that have brought us joy. For me, writing is a release and a sweet encounter with the Lord. I tend to write when I feel led and not from a to-do list or deadline. Well, here we are loves!
Surrender is hard. Surrender is empty. Surrender is full. Surrender is angry. Surrender is joy. Surrender is sacrifice. Surrender is peace. Surrender is obedience.
In Christian living, we know living under the will of God is necessary for our lives. We are making a commitment to live under the Call, Oil, and Word of the Lord. Surrender is often associated with a negative connotation. You may have heard “the enemy surrendered to the opponent. “Biblical surrender is not used in the same context.
What is Surrender?
Biblical surrender is an open willingness to give God your whole being. It is to decide to allow God to be your ruler. The word surrender is derived from the Greek word “paradidomi” which means to give over or entrust. In our surrender, we are entrusting the Holy Spirit to lead us day to day. As you can imagine, this is not always easy to do, and we won’t always get it right.
Why do we Surrender
We surrender ourselves to the Lord because as believers we place no other Gods before Him. We allow him to be the center of our lives. “You must not have any other god but me. 4“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the
third and fourth generations of those who reject me. 6But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. ( Exodus 20:2-5)
How do we Surrender
Salvation- We first accept the Lord as our Savior. We accept him as the One True God. Seek- We build a relationship with him by reading his word, praising him, and giving thanks and prayer. We also seek him by bringing Him alongside our daily life. He wants to be involved with everything that you are involved in. Serve- We can serve him by loving and living well with others. The heart of a servant is a characteristic of God. When you join a ministry, feed the homeless, volunteer in your community, and provide your skills to causes that align with your passion, you have an opportunity to serve and share the good news. Sow-tithing is still important. Giving God back 10% of what has been given to you is a sign of obedience. In addition to tithing, you can sow offerings into your church or a ministry/mission that you support.
Surrender’s Reward
There is always a reward for living surrendered to God. However. You may not always see it at that exact moment. It may also not make sense in that moment. One major reward of your surrender is knowing that God, Our Father is well pleased. When we reach judgment day, we need Jesus to recognize us and be overjoyed by our presence. Your surrender should also mean that you desire God to say” Well Done”. Another reward is peace. Living for God is not always easy. It will mean that you can’t go everywhere you desire to go AND you can’t do everything that you want to do. It will require you to say no more often. It will mean that your “YES” may be delayed. Surrendered peace is sweet.